Notes on how to use Stretch Therapy, written for an experienced coach who is a new user of Stretch Therapy (Chris Sommer)

[Kit_L]

To help you get the firmest possible grasp of the principles that underlie the approach I advocate, I thought it might be useful to make a few notes.

To start, the acquisition of flexibility by adults is a completely different proposition than with children, the group you usually work with. Adults, by definition, have experienced their second growth spurts, usually (but not always) in their late teens. There are many reasons for this critically important difference, and these can be canvassed below if anyone's interested. The key point here is that standard methods (like "hold a stretch for 30") will not be effective in changing any present patterns that adults have. Much experience has shown this to be accurate.

This reality suggests that a different approach is required, and that is what I want to address here. I can say that I have tried every approach that has been written about, and many that have not. What I want to share with you here has never been written down, apart from oblique references in my past books. What follows are the core conditions for an adult to change his/her body–mind in a way that observers would describe as "he/she has become more flexible". I can expand on this aspect, but what is not obvious to anybody is that one's pattern of flexibility is actually one's "self": one's personality, self-beliefs, fears, and so on. One's emotional self is precisely this pattern.

Recall the immediate changes that you saw on the workshop where you first saw this method in action: the young man's appearance, projection of personality, confidence, and many other aspects were different the moment he came out of the stick stretch. The basic person did not change, but the presentation of the person did. You are interested in flexibility insofar as it applies to better execution of skill elements in your sport; but many other benefits will accrue in the pursuit of this goal, and all will be regarded as a benefit to you and to the individual. When we talk of body language, this complex patterning is what we refer to.

The essential conditions for flexibility to change have two parts. One is the exploration of new ranges of movement, and the other is how this can be 'embodied' (retained in the body and incorporated in the activity in question).

The #1 necessity is that, when stretching, heat must be kept in the body: the work of remodelling fascia cannot be done in shorts or bare legs. In time, once that new flexibility has been embodied, they will be able to demonstrate it in any kind of clothes—but if you want to remodel their present flexibility, heat has to be retained.

A side note: whiles additional contractions can be performed, and new ROM explored, we are working on the somatosensory cortex and what tension it believes is necessary or useful. We are remapping what the unconscious part of the brain believes is the appropriate length-tension relationship in the various body parts. But when no more improvement in ROM can be achieved, we are now up against restrictions in the fascial structures themselves. Maintaining as much heat as possible in the body allows gentle and slow fascial remodelling. The way this is done is to back off slightly from the maximum ROM end position, and wait—minutes, for some muscle groups (this requirement depends on relative muscle size). More on this below.

Maintaining heat can only be done by using dual layers of tights and thick cotton tracksuit pants in my experience. This is why dancers wear leggings (there is a fashion element there, too!). There will be no problem in learning to see the body's alignment through track pants and the upper body can be naked or lightly clothed: keeping the heat in the largest muscles that is the key requirement. Ambient heat is no help here: the human body is expert at shedding heat (the result is that no matter what exercise is being done, or what the ambient temperature is, the human body core temperature hovers around 98.6 F, unless something goes wrong, like rhabdomyolysis).

Only a very narrow window of increased temperature in the muscles is required to open the window to changing one's patterns (2 degrees Celcius). To put this in perspective, a lukewarm bath is 40 degrees C (a fraction above body temperature) and a scalding hot bath that you could not immerse yourself in is only 44 degrees. The point is that the reactions that we are trying to influence in the body change radically over very small temperature variations. This 'window' can be opened by slowing the body's normally very effective temperature shedding strategies by wearing the recommended gear, and worn on the bottom half of the body only.

So, tights and track pants, please, and learn to read alignment through these clothes. It's easy to see, but practise is required.

The second and equally important point is that flexibility cannot be achieved by force or by intensity. I know this is counterintuitive to a degree, because we have to exert some force to provoke any change (in strength training or in any other) and in flexibility work, effort is needed. The contractions we recommend require force. But, and this is a huge but, the force is used only to make, or re-make, the connection to that part of the body. Once the force has been applied, the body has to be brought to a state where it's willing to let this protective tension go. Recall our conversation re. anaesthesia: all humans have perfect flexibility while under anaesthetic; as they regain consciousness, though, individual patterns re-manifest. The point is that force cannot change the pattern: the trigger to change this is not consciously available to us.

In fact, in the ST system, we use the bones, muscles, and fascia only to remap the brain; this is what provokes the changes we regard as "becoming more flexible" in the short term. Further, heat allows the fascia to be remodelled once the elongation is experienced. Both are necessary. Effort is only required to the extent needed to provide the proprioceptive feedback to that part of the brain that decides how much tension to maintain in any body part, and its pattern around the body. As well, the degree of force that is required to bring this change about cannot be known ahead of time. Personally, now, I need 80–100% contraction force; other students need only 10%, and any level above 50% in these students actually has the opposite effect (the body experiences the force in the stretch as a direct threat, and literally creates additional tension to ensure the elongation does not happen). The capacity to tolerate more tension (hence stronger intensity of the stretching experience) can be learned; but it cannot be imposed: it has to be allowed, and can only be experienced, and learned.

To achieve this goal of knowing 'how much', each individual's attention has to be turned inwards. No teacher can do this part of the process. This redirection of attention will be a complete change in approach (because the way of working in most group facilities is that athletes' attentions is on the coach and on your reactions/suggestions following the practising of the activity). But what I am recommending here only needs to be done twice a week at the end of the hardest session (strength-wise) to be effective. The change of attention (from the leader of the activity to each athlete's internal state) will not affect all the other psychological aspects of their training.

The larger point is this: unless the athlete's brain and sensory being is directly involved in the experience of stretching, it will not be effective. So, just for this part of the training week, you will need to ask your athletes the most important questions for the acquisition of flexibility: What does that feel like, and where do you feel it, and how can you relax further into it?

The deeper point here is that only each individual can answer that question and—critically—the time it takes to relax into the beginning of a stretch; the contraction time, and the time spent in the re-stretch is unique. It can only be experienced, then learned, by each of the athletes themselves; it cannot be reduced to a formula of number of seconds, or number of reps, or percentage of maximum strength in the contraction. This will not come naturally.

As an aside, this will be the hardest point to get across: there is no formula for adults; only an approach. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

I am very happy to expand on these very brief notes, so please ask questions below! Regards to all, KL

[Jukka_M]

Excellent information, as always!

Adults, by definition, have experienced their second growth spurts, usually (but not always) in their late teens. There are many reason for this critically important difference, and these can be canvassed below if anyone's interested. The key point here is that standard methods (like "hold a stretch for 30") will not be effective in changing any present patterns that adults have.

Could you elaborate on this a bit more? Thank you.

[Richard Hamilton]

Really informative post. Thank you Kit

[Kit_L]

Jukka, hello there

A child's body has many critical differences to an adult's. The main ones are first, their fascial structures are much more malleable than an adult's and, second, their fascia structures have not yet habituated to a particular way of the body holding itself (and to which the fascia then responds, by toughening to maintain the shape). Adults, in stark contrast, live in what Wilhelm Reich called "character armour": a literal armouring that he claimed was a protective response to every threat, or injury, or perceived threat—for from the body's perspective (the mind's, really) there is no difference between real and perceived, just as in a dream. The body simply reacts.

So, two consequences: one is that any method, given enough time, will be effective for making children more flexible, and that is one of the reasons why dancers and gymnasts start early. Tiny increments of increased flexibility are incorporated in the growing body, and it's no big deal, day to day. But if we start our stretching as an adult, we are trying to change something that has lost much of its fluidity and plasticity and, more importantly, has learned to value being a certain way; a way that is reflexive patterns of holding the body in particular ways, to express various aspect of the personality, and so on. As I said above, in the ST system we are using the bones, tendons, skin, fascia, and muscle as the tools to change the patterns the mind has learned to respond to the world via. The child, on the other hand, is the tabula rasa that John Locke spoke of: a child can become a dancer, a violinist, or a couch potato—it all depends on what happens as they mature, and what captures their attention. The body has no volition in this regard: it simply reacts to what it is experiencing.

It's not all gloom, doom, and despair for adults, though: if you do become more flexible, then (and again in contrast to a child) you will be aware of these changes, and that awareness changes you and the mind's idea of the self. Becoming flexible as a child confers no special benefits beyond the flexibility, but this is not the case for adults. As we become more flexible, we are changing our emotional palette (because the emotional self is nothing more than a collection of patterns we manifest under different circumstances, learned as we grew up; the positive emotions are the relaxations of these patterns; think of the feeling of holding a baby) and in the process we giving ourselves options as to how we respond in the future to the same stimuli. It is a fascinating process that seems to have no end!

The last thing I want to say is that most adults want to become more flexible for a reason, as in gymnastics or martial arts. This is good, but it is only the beginning of a deeply interesting journey. Personally, I stretch to find out what the old body wants, and to feel really 'well' in my body. This might sound odd, but I am deeply grateful that I was amazingly stiff as a 27-year-old athlete, and I am so glad I persisted in a practise which, for the first two or three years, yielded no changes to the body that I could see or feel. I have made more progress in this regard over the last ten years than the previous 20.

If I have gone off on a tangent, and have not answered what you wanted to know, just ask. Cheers, KL

[Jukka_M]

Much appreciated! Thank you.

[Abdul Ghani]

Great write-up!

You mentioned that heat is necessary to remodel fascia, and also said ambient heat has little effect. I workout in a basement which is approximately 58 degrees F. If I wear long thermal underwear under my workout clothes, and warm-up by skipping rope for 5 minutes, will it be conducive to ST even if the ambient is cooling me off as I stretch? Or should I do my ST in a warmer environment to reap the benefits?

[Kit_L]

Abdul, good question.

The answer turns on your experience in that environment; I'll be a bit more specific in a moment. I noticed years ago that I am loosest in winter, which goes against all the 'facts', but the reason is what I wear in winter: thermals and some outer skin, always. So, whenever I am planning a workout, those thermals go on before I even start. When I begin stretching in a cold place, the body initially feels tight (but I believe that comes from the additional muscle tension the body is creating just to maintain core temp., and this happens in any cold environment, including training facilities with cold air conditioning) but as soon as I start moving, I can feel that additional extensibility.

So, to answer your question, I think 5' skipping is not enough to create heat internally; try 10, if you can. And if skipping for 10' does not appeal, then any other bodyweight activity will work too. My favourite is bodyweight squats (on one retreat in New Mexico I worked my way up to 500 continuous bodyweight squats; it took about 14.5 minutes to complete the set, from memory, once I built the numbers up, but I was almost melting at the end, and the weather was cool.

Internal heat is much better for what we want that external heat. In my quest to get my side splits and full pancake back, I have taken to wearing my tights (what you call thermals) under my tracksuit pants, even though the weather is hot here—and I sweat as a result, from the upper body, as the body tries to keep the core cool. But because the lower half of the body can't shed heat as well (thermals and tracksuit pants) the lower limbs definitely increase in muscle core temp.; this is the direct experience. And when I go to stretch (I have to drive for 20' to the venue), those muscles already feel ready to work.

All make sense?

[Abdul Ghani]

Thanks for the great answer, Kit! That did make sense. On a different note, I just borrowed Stretching and Flexibility from my local library. Hopefully, with the stretches and concepts in the book and the idea of internal heat, I can make some progress towards in my splits and pancake stretches.

[Kit_L]

If you have access to the book, get the DVD Update for it. It's not expensive and unlike the book, is not expensive to post (get the in-sleeve version). The DVD Update has many exercises not shown in the book (hamstrings and hip flexors in particular) and the Update, as you might expect, brings the book up to date!

Update: this program is available to download and/or stream from our Vimeo channel. No copy protection, either, so you can copy on to all your devices. Get it here:

http://vimeo.com/ondemand/SandFDVDUpate

 

[SwissDanny]

Hi, and welcome.

Q1a.  I think "structural limitations" in ST jargon would literally mean there is simply no mechanical possibility for further movement once tissues have been strengthened relaxed softened extended etc over months maybe years. People have become extremely flexible using ST (and derived) methods.  Is your question theoretical or practical?  ST is generally more interested on if it works, not how it works, rather than over-intellectualize.

Q1b. Considering ST belief that proprioception is fundamental to the method anything that gets in the way of mindfulness it probably would not be an obvious route to take for experimentation, but it is a very open system (just look at the work in the last 18 months on ballistic and pulsing stretching).  Give it a go and give us feedback.

Q2. ST very clearly advocates that stretching when warm is by far preferable. But again it is a framework/toolkit and makes suggestions not rules, so for example contractions are not prescribed, just a concept given for people to start out with.

I had a look at RPG (I am bilingual French).  The two fundamental claims to uniqueness seem to be postural chains and the need to stretch tonic muscles. There are a number of poses used, two an hour are worked with a therapist. It seems to be a rather closed system (little DIY guidance, expensive table required).  The goals are closer to pilates or rolfing ie around unlocking and achieving a certain desired posture, whereas ST is again a toolkit; some use it to achieve gymnastics poses, some just to be able to squat well, others for daily well being in their body

But we would be interested to hear your experiences or RPG and integrate anything that works into ST.

[FenryrMKIII]

Hello and thank you for your time and answers.

Q1a was meant to be really practical. From your answer, It seems I misunderstood what was meant by "structural limitations" as I understood it as "If after one or two sessions of stretching you don't notice improvements using contract-relax anymore, then it means you have reached structural limitations and other techniques must be used to gain additional flexiblity". From your answer I understand this kind of limitations would only appear after a much longer period of time.

Q1b : I plan to post workout log (stretching only) quite soon to monitor progress & keep myself accountable so that will answer the recommendation to give feedback.

Q2 : It is nice that you were able to read about the RPG. As said, RPG is really therapeutic only and as you say quite expensive material is necessary and a practitioner is needed. SGA is the part of the method for healthy sporty people. Here, no material or partner is required. 

I tried the system but it is quite boring (very long time required e.g. 10 minutes at least per pose) and difficult to maintain because the poses are "integral" (this is the basis of the approach, don't stretch isolated muscles but the whole chain). The fact that when you are stiff you still need to hold the entire pose felt very stressful for me as it was very difficult to maintain certain poses and you have no directions or intermediate steps for helping you get to the right pose. One of them is very similar to the abductor stretch of ST but for me this pose is at the moment very difficult because I am so stiff than when getting in the pose my back muscles tightens very strongly. But as said, no guidance how to solve this kind of issue in SGA method. 
And as you mention, the method is not so open as ST e.g. there is no forum to discuss potential issues and you need to rely on a SGA certified therapist or follow the workshop yourself if you don't understand something. 

[Kit_L]

Structural limitations show up after years of work, not days; the vast majority of people starting stretching are limited by simple muscular tension and (this is the more important aspect) and sensory unfamiliarity with this tension—it is experienced as pain, and that's a massive disincentive to continue! Hence most do not.

On the other hand, this 'simple' sensation of resistance to what you want to do changes over time if you follow our approach, and can change radically. The mind can only know what it knows, and only knows what it knows from what has happened or what's been done before; and therein lies the paradox—if this is true, then how can we show the mind that the perception currently being experienced when you get into a stretch, while feeling very real, is an illusion—one that only you can see when you are more flexible?

The paradox is resolved when we use the bones, fascia, ligaments, and tendons and various positions to remap the somatosensory cortex (where all proprioceptive and mechanoreceptive information is 'received' in the brain). Patience and the capacity to relax fully in the face of this tension is crucial in trying to change this experience, which is why we say these days "relax the tummy fully and, on another breath out, slowly go a bit deeper into the position".

The experience of having reached the end of one's range of movement is real from the doer's perspective, but it is not Real (Anthony Wilden's terminology). And, this is critical, it is very easy to test this and, always, the perception is shown to be inaccurate. Anyone who has done a workshop with us can talk endlessly about this, too.

[Kit_L]

A side note on a side note: "Real", used in Wilden's way, is used to point to a vantage point that no human can experience (a "God's eye" view, a posited, objective perspective that an omnipotent god might see, if she cared to). Each of us can only perceive and experience reality from our own limited vantage point, the sensations and experiences themselves being anchored in our personal history. To illustrate the point: it does not matter what training or education or life experience I have, I cannot feel what Emmet is feeling when he works on side splits. But this direct experience is not necessary to still be able to make useful suggestions on how someone else might tackle a similar problem.

And we all share an evolutionary inheritance: most humans feel pain when they stretch something strongly, or bang up against something, and that experience of 'pain' is, at its most fundamental point, a protective mechanism to help us navigate a potentially hostile environment. But because most modern humans lived effectively cocooned (in clothing and footwear, a massively reduced physical demand set, and 10,000 distractions that take us away from sensations in the physical body) the point in the range of movement that the body is capable of where pain is experienced has become less and less—and this is simply because we do not use this ROM. The "map" has been made smaller. This is because the somatosensory cortex is made individually: precisely, it is constructed only by what you do, or don't do. 

[Colin-M]

I'm in the process of reading S&F and there are a couple of points I need clarified on the C-R method.

(1) After the three part C-R has been repeated so no further ROM can be achieved, when in this final ROM does the stretchee use contractions or just try to relax the muscle being stretched.

(2) I read in one of Kits articles that this is not a Reps and Sets system but I would like some feedback on what is generally the optimum amount of sets the three part C-R should be applied.

I agree that everybody responds to stretching/stretching technics in a different way and one should experiment and find their best fit so maybe I've answered both questions on my own.

 

[SwissDanny]

10 minutes ago, Colin-M said:

I agree that everybody responds to stretching/stretching technics in a different way and one should experiment and find their best fit so maybe I've answered both questions on my own.

 

Welcome. Yes! to both.

The aim of the contraction is to turn off the stretch reflex briefly to allow you to reach a new position ... definitely are trying to relax into the end position.  The clue is are you breathing or not.

Look even within one person what works for one muscle group is different for another, and varies with time and experience, even what you did before, or from day to day. Three is not necessarily optimum but it does seem to be the best one size fits all. 

One extra tip. Contractions. Dont think more is better... especially at first. The more you can focus the contraction on the target muscle the more effective it will be.

 

[Kit_L]

4 hours ago, Colin-M said:

(1) After the three part C-R has been repeated so no further ROM can be achieved, when in this final ROM does the stretchee use contractions or just try to relax the muscle being stretched.

Fundamental misunderstanding there; this is how it goes:

(Contract > breathe in, breathe out, let tummy go soft, breathe in, during period of breath out move deeper into desired ROM) x 3

Relax as much as possible in the final position for minimum of 30"; longer is better. As SD says, the state of your breathing is the key: if your breathing changes too mush (as in gets shallower or faster) you are not relaxing, you are defending. Back off.

The 'let the tummy go soft' is the latest addition to the toolbox; it turns out to be amazingly important and effective. 

4 hours ago, Colin-M said:

(2) I read in one of Kits articles that this is not a Reps and Sets system but I would like some feedback on what is generally the optimum amount of sets the three part C-R should be applied.

With respect, you are over-thinking this. Just try it for yourself. If extra repetitions of the C–R cycle yield extra ROM for you, then that's the scheme you use. Only you can find out. Three is a simple effort vs. reward model to start with. I need 6–7 repetitions for side splits to get down as far as I can on any day, and one for biceps. You will now know what yours is until you have worked your way around the whole body and (this is the amazing bit!), it will change over time. so, expect nothing when you get down on the floor, and feel what your body is feeding back to you as you play with this. Can be different on different days, too; I know it is for me and I have been doing this for a while.

[Colin-M]

14 hours ago, Kit_L said:

Fundamental misunderstanding there; this is how it goes:

(Contract > breathe in, breathe out, let tummy go soft, breathe in, during period of breath out move deeper into desired ROM) x 3

Relax as much as possible in the final position for minimum of 30"; longer is better. As SD says, the state of your breathing is the key: if your breathing changes too mush (as in gets shallower or faster) you are not relaxing, you are defending. Back off.

The 'let the tummy go soft' is the latest addition to the toolbox; it turns out to be amazingly important and effective. 

With respect, you are over-thinking this. Just try it for yourself. If extra repetitions of the C–R cycle yield extra ROM for you, then that's the scheme you use. Only you can find out. Three is a simple effort vs. reward model to start with. I need 6–7 repetitions for side splits to get down as far as I can on any day, and one for biceps. You will now know what yours is until you have worked your way around the whole body and (this is the amazing bit!), it will change over time. so, expect nothing when you get down on the floor, and feel what your body is feeding back to you as you play with this. Can be different on different days, too; I know it is for me and I have been doing this for a while.

Thank you for your prompt response. Sorry if I didn't explain my question 2 properly as it was the number of times one would repeat the exercise as in weight training the number of sets performed. I find with my stretching over the years the 3 sets is best for me as I would rather undertrain slightly than overtrain and take longer to recoup or risk injury. I think it's better to start your next session with fresh muscles.

[Colin-M]

19 hours ago, SwissDanny said:

Welcome. Yes! to both.

The aim of the contraction is to turn off the stretch reflex briefly to allow you to reach a new position ... definitely are trying to relax into the end position.  The clue is are you breathing or not.

Look even within one person what works for one muscle group is different for another, and varies with time and experience, even what you did before, or from day to day. Three is not necessarily optimum but it does seem to be the best one size fits all. 

One extra tip. Contractions. Dont think more is better... especially at first. The more you can focus the contraction on the target muscle the more effective it will be.

 

Thankyou for your help. Up to now I've been following the Thomas Kurz method (which I'm sure your familiar with) where the last stretch is held in contraction and the emphasis is building strength in the muscle which is claimed to translate to improved flexibility. I will be trying this new method for me of relaxing and breathing on the last rep. I would appreciate your thoughts on the Thomas Kurz method.

[Kit_L]

Thomas certainly has excellent dynamic flexibility, as his many YT videos attest. But we (ST) feels that the required strength and flexibility can be acquired more safely via the methods we recommend, and as we say on the Mastery Series, if you want superior flexibility (the example is side splits) you need to be strong enough to be able to support all your weight on the leg muscles alone. He can do this too, of course, as the images on the covers of his book show!

The possible contradiction can be resolved in consideration of the (at least) two systems involved. IF an extra contraction gets you deeper, you are working on the neural system. If not, and you feel no further elongation is possible, you are probably hanging off your fascial system; this is why you back off slightly and stay in the end position for a few minutes, relaxing as much as you can: this allows the fascia to adapt (it will feel like 'creeping'). You will learn to feel the difference. 

His morning dynamic drills I endorse 100%.

Re. numbers of sets: that was what I was talking about. To rephrase, three iterations of contractions and relaxations, rather than one. But what I was pointing to is that this varies by person and body part—I need 6–iterations of the cycle described to get best side splits any day. For neck muscles, one is sufficient.

[Colin-M]

On 14/04/2018 at 1:10 AM, Kit_L said:

Thomas certainly has excellent dynamic flexibility, as his many YT videos attest. But we (ST) feels that the required strength and flexibility can be acquired more safely via the methods we recommend, and as we say on the Mastery Series, if you want superior flexibility (the example is side splits) you need to be strong enough to be able to support all your weight on the leg muscles alone. He can do this too, of course, as the images on the covers of his book show!

The possible contradiction can be resolved in consideration of the (at least) two systems involved. IF an extra contraction gets you deeper, you are working on the neural system. If not, and you feel no further elongation is possible, you are probably hanging off your fascial system; this is why you back off slightly and stay in the end position for a few minutes, relaxing as much as you can: this allows the fascia to adapt (it will feel like 'creeping'). You will learn to feel the difference. 

His morning dynamic drills I endorse 100%.

Re. numbers of sets: that was what I was talking about. To rephrase, three iterations of contractions and relaxations, rather than one. But what I was pointing to is that this varies by person and body part—I need 6–iterations of the cycle described to get best side splits any day. For neck muscles, one is sufficient.

Thank you for the excellent explanation.

[Matt Hill]

On 10/10/2012 at 6:41 PM, Kit_L said:

but what is not obvious to anybody is that one's pattern of flexibility is actually one's "self": one's personality, self-beliefs, fears, and so on. One's emotional self is precisely this pattern.

Kit could you please expand on this and also send me towards books that could broaden my understanding on this subject?

I've heard similar sentiments echoed in Alexander's work (Alexander technique) about movement patterns, which makes some sense... But I have a fuzzy appreciation for what exactly this means.

[Kit_L]

@Matt Hill, take a look at yourself in the mirror: what you see is precisely a unique set of tensions; these are intimately related to your patterns of flexibility. All the lines in one's face (and elsewhere in the body) are formed by tension. This is why the deceased look so relaxed, too: the mechanism creating tension (our thoughts) has been disconnected.

The major texts on this are Wilhelm Reich and Antonio Damasio, but that's a huge amount of reading and each requires a fairly deep understanding of the fields that each write in; both are listed in the Reading section (the "6 'Rs"). The Cliff Notes version is that each of us presents ourselves to the world in an unique way, and holds ourselves and moves in a unique way. Damasio was the first to discover that emotions are physical properties of held tension, rather than "mental" ones (although the closer you look, the harder it is to distinguish between these). So "butterflies in the stomach" or feeling anxious is the stomach lining fibrillating, in reality. Every other aspect about ourselves is similar.

Acquiring new ranges of movement, and decreasing one's resting muscle tonus simply opens up options that did not exist before. Last point in this huge subject is that no living thing responds to stress be opening, lengthening, and relaxing: it is always the opposite movements. Opening yourself (this is what ST is really all about) redresses these natural, hard-wired protective mechanisms, and creates new ways of being. 

There's more, but this really is a HUGE topic: even your idea of yourself is a collection of habits, which are literally recreated and modified moment-by-moment. According to the Buddha, none of this is real (in the sense of being absolute or unchanging) and one of the goals of meditation is to have the insight that this is accurate (the core teaching is anatta, or no-self, if you want to look this up). It's a long way down this rabbit hole!

[Matt Hill]

11 hours ago, Kit_L said:

The major texts on this are Wilhelm Reich and Antonio Damasio, but that's a huge amount of reading and each requires a fairly deep understanding of the fields that each write in

Well, I guess I've got a bunch of reading to do! 

 

11 hours ago, Kit_L said:

There's more, but this really is a HUGE topic: even your idea of yourself is a collection of habits, which are literally recreated and modified moment-by-moment. According to the Buddha, none of this is real (in the sense of being absolute or unchanging) and one of the goals of meditation is to have the insight that this is accurate (the core teaching is anatta, or no-self, if you want to look this up).

I can't say I have had a direct experience of this during practice, although some interesting things have been discovered.

Intellectually I think I understand the concept. We are constantly moulded by the unfolding present. Every deceivingly small event we experience impacting our thoughts and behaviours in some way. Reminds me of Heraclitus -  'A man never enters the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man'.

Perhaps a misunderstanding, but in my mind anatta also has some meaning related to the interconnectedness of all things?